 October 25, 1952 weather map, featuring Hurricane Fox | |
| Meteorological history | |
|---|---|
| Formed | October 20, 1952 |
| Dissipated | October 28, 1952 |
| Category 4 major hurricane | |
| 1-minute sustained (SSHWS/NWS) | |
| Highest winds | 145 mph (230 km/h) |
| Lowest pressure | 934 mbar (hPa); 27.58 inHg |
| Overall effects | |
| Fatalities | 601 |
| Damage | $10 million (1952 USD) |
| Areas affected | Cayman Islands, Cuba, southeast Florida, the Bahamas |
| IBTrACS | |
Part of the 1952 Atlantic hurricane season | |
Hurricane Fox was a powerful, destructive, and deadly tropical cyclone that crossed central Cuba in October 1952. The seventh named storm, sixth hurricane, and third major hurricane of the 1952 Atlantic hurricane season, it was the strongest and deadliest system of the season. Fox developed northwest of Cartagena, Colombia, in the southern Caribbean Sea. It moved steadily northwest, intensifying to a tropical storm on October 21. The next day, it rapidly strengthened into a hurricane and turned north passing closely to Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands.[1] The cyclone attained peak winds of 145 mph (233 km/h) as it struck Cayo Guano del Este off the coast of Cienfuegos. Fox made landfall on Cuba at maximum intensity, producing peak gusts of 170–180 mph (270–290 km/h). It weakened over land, but it re-strengthened as it turned east over the Bahamas. On October 26, it weakened and took an erratic path, dissipating west-southwest of Bermuda on October 28.
Fox was the second most intense hurricane to strike Cuba until Hurricane Michelle in 2001. It was originally believed to have been the second Category 4 hurricane in Cuba prior to the Atlantic hurricane reanalysis. At the time, the cyclone produced the fourth lowest pressure in a landfalling Cuban hurricane; only the 1917, 1924, and 1932 hurricanes were more intense. Hurricane Irma would later join that list in 2017. Hurricane Fox killed 600 people across the island, causing severe crop damages in rural areas. The hurricane also ruined 30 percent of the tomato crops on Eleuthera in the Bahamas. Across the archipelago, Fox produced wind gusts in excess of 110 mph (180 km/h). Total damages reached $10 million in Cuba. Fox was the second hurricane to land during the season, after Hurricane Able struck South Carolina.[2]
- ^ "Documentation of Atlantic Tropical Cyclones Changes in HURDAt". www.aoml.noaa.gov. Archived from the original on 17 August 2021.
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
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